A love note for my sister

I am convinced that, from the moment I was born, you decided to love me unconditionally. You and I are so different in many ways. You do science. I do letters. You want all the babies. I am in over my head with 3. You are effortlessly hilarious. I am the "serious" one. As children, you learned how to swim and ride a bike while I watched from the sidelines, scared out of my mind that I might fall and break a knee. You were always so brave, jumping over levees and asking strangers on the road if you could hold their newborn babies. 

And yet, we are pretty much the same person.

We live 360 miles apart. So, our time together is limited to three to four road trips a year. We have tried to talk every day for a long time now. It just doesn't always work out. I mean, how could we talk every day? Between us, we have 7 children, a full time job, a part time job, a couple of freelancing gigs, full time nursing school, community/church obligations, and other siblings/parents/in-laws who also need our love and attention.

When we do get to talk, it feels like everything is right with the world. Sometimes, I call you because I am overwhelmed and feel better within seconds. Just you picking up the phone - in that way that you do everything at 200% - makes me forget why I even felt overwhelmed. 

I recently recorded a 20 second part of a song. When I listened back, I thought you were the one singing. I did not expect to laugh out loud, but what is a girl to do when realizing that her only sister passed down even her voice. 

There is no doubt that I wouldn’t be me without you. Your sense of humor has seen me through some tough times, even when I didn’t want to laugh. You have put up with my moods for over three decades, and you still want to love me no matter what. While I sit here missing you, I celebrate the friendship and joy you have given me over the years. Just knowing that I have you in my corner gives me so much strength.

There are simply no words for my gratitude. I love you.